Chapter 10 – Fire Against Blood
The night was alive with firelight. The flames around the camp licked higher, fed by Kiran's rage. His heart thundered, torn between blood and betrayal.
Across from him, Jaden stood calm, almost smug, shadows coiling around his figure. He had no flame, but something darker pulsed within him—an aura of corrupted energy gifted by the Syndicate.
"You don't have to do this," Kiran said, his voice low, vibrating with the power inside him. "You're still my family."
Jaden's laugh was sharp as glass. "Family? Family let me starve while you were praised as a chosen one. Family left me with nothing but scraps. The Syndicate gave me a choice—you or me. I chose me."
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Orin shifted, axe at the ready. "He's stalling, Kiran. Let me end him."
"No," Kiran growled, stepping forward. "This fight is mine."
Miren hesitated, eyes flicking between them. "Kiran…" But he didn't finish. The weight of the moment silenced him.
---
The air cracked as Jaden raised his hand. From the darkness, threads of shadow lashed out, hissing like snakes. Kiran's fire roared in response, his body glowing like molten stone.
The first clash was thunderous—fire meeting shadow, heat colliding with cold. The ground split, trees shattering under the force.
"You're weak, Jaden!" Kiran shouted, pushing the shadows back with a surge of flame. "The Syndicate is using you!"
Jaden sneered, twisting his hand. The shadows thickened, forming jagged spears. "Better to be used by power than ignored by blood!"
One spear pierced through the flames, grazing Kiran's shoulder. The poison burned instantly, searing his veins.
Kiran staggered, pain flashing through him. The Syndicate's venom—just as Orin had warned.
---
But instead of falling, Kiran straightened, flames exploding from his body in a fiery vortex. His wound glowed as fire cauterized it, sealing the poison before it could spread.
Jaden's eyes widened. "Impossible—!"
Kiran's voice thundered like an inferno. "You forget, cousin. Fire doesn't break—it consumes!"
With a roar, Kiran launched forward, fists blazing, crashing into Jaden. The shadows screamed as they were burned away, and the traitor was hurled back, smashing into the rocks.
---
Silence followed, broken only by Jaden's ragged breathing. He lay battered, smoke rising from his charred cloak.
Kiran stood over him, chest heaving. The fire in his veins begged to finish it—to burn away betrayal forever.
But he hesitated. His fists trembled. Could he kill his own blood?
Orin's voice cut through the night. "Do it, Kiran. End him before he ends you."
Miren, however, whispered, "If you kill him, you'll lose more than a cousin. You'll lose yourself."
Kiran's fire crackled, caught between vengeance and mercy.
And Jaden, bruised and bleeding, smirked through broken teeth. "Hesitation… that's why you'll lose everything."